After months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, President Donald Trump is touting a fast and robust federal response to the devastating Texas floods. One former agency leader says it’s “a defining event that can help them realize that a Federal Emergency Management Agency is essential.”
Trump also teased that he’ll declare more tariffs against U.S. trading partners ahead of his latest Aug. 1 deadline for negotiations. The 27-member European Union hopes to seal a trade deal ahead of that date, and meanwhile is preparing retaliatory measures against American products, from beef to Boeing jets.
The Latest:
Malaysia draws ‘red lines’ in trade talks with US
Malaysia will not compromise on its national interest or sovereignty in tariff talks with the U.S., Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said Wednesday.
Trump raised his threatened tariffs against Malaysia to 25% from 24% this week, but Zafrul said Malaysia won’t cross “specific red lines” involving U.S. requests in policy and laws in areas such as government procurement, halal certification, medical standards and digital taxes.
Zafrul said he and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would meet with Rubio to discuss the tariff issue. Malaysia’s offer includes a pledge by Malaysia Airlines to buy 30 Boeing jets, as well as deals on semiconductors and other technology, but he said that “if the deal does not benefit Malaysia, we should not have a deal.”
Europe is hoping to seal a deal — and preparing to retaliate if not
The 27-nation bloc is hoping to strike a deal with Trump soon, but is preparing retaliatory measures on hundreds of American products from beef to beer to Boeing jets if talks aren’t successful.
“We stick to our principles. We defend our interests. We continue to work in good faith and we get ready for all scenarios,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at an EU meeting in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday.
She said the American imposition of 70% tariffs on trade from the EU is “unprecedented” and requires that “our line has to be very clear. We will be firm. We do prefer a negotiated solution.”
Sweeping tariffs may overshadow Rubio’s security goals in Asia
Trump’s latest threat of higher tariffs to countries including several Asian nations if they don’t make trade deals with the U.S. came just a day before Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations security conference in Malaysia on Thursday and Friday.
Rubio’s “talking points on the China threat will not resonate with officials whose industries are being battered by 30-40% tariffs,” said Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific during the Obama administration.
Compared to China’s representative, Rubio “is a rookie trying to sell an ‘America First’ message to a deeply skeptical audience,” Russell said.
▶ Read more about Rubio’s first official trip to Asia
Trump hosting West African leaders as USAID cuts threaten millions of deaths
The agenda of Trump’s “multilateral lunch” Wednesday with the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau includes economic development, security, infrastructure and democracy, according to a statement from the Liberian presidency. The White House has not provided further details.
The surprise meeting comes as Trump takes radical steps to reshape the U.S. relationship with Africa, dissolving theU.S. Agency for International Development and shifting from what the administration calls “a charity-based foreign aid model” to partnerships with nations that have “the ability and willingness to help themselves.”
A study published in the Lancet medical journal projects Trump’s shift will lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, including 4.5 million children.
West Africa possesses untapped resources. They’re also among countries that might fall under an expansion of Trump’s travel ban.
▶ Read more about Trump’s lunch with African leaders
Russia says threat of US tariffs against BRICS violate free trade principles
Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. Wednesday of hinting at potential tariffs against the trade alliance of Brazil, Russia, India and China as a form of political pressure.
Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said unilaterally applying such tariffs would destroy the existing architecture for international economic cooperation. She accused Washington of “hiding” behind principles such as fair competition and national security.
Trump’s threat “grossly violates the rules of the WTO and the principles of free trade, which, until recently, Washington insisted on as a universal truth,” Zakharova told journalists.
Trump teases more letters on trade being sent to US trading partners Wednesday
“We will be releasing a minimum of 7 Countries having to do with trade, tomorrow morning, with an additional number of Countries being released in the afternoon,” the president said Tuesday night in a post on his social platform.
Trump has for several days teased letters listing tariffs that the administration plans to impose on different countries — even as it also continues to negotiate trade deals. So far, Trump’s trade blitz has produced lots of uncertainty but deals with just two countries — the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
▶ Read more about the state of play on Trump’s tariffs
Trump avoids talk of scrapping FEMA after more than 100 killed in Texas flash flood
The president has avoided talking about his plan to scrap the federal disaster response agency after the catastrophic flash flood in Texas that killed more than 100 people, including children attending a girls-only camp.
Asked shortly after the disaster whether he still intended to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Trump said it wasn’t the right time to talk about it. Nor did he mention such plans during a nearly two-hour meeting with his Cabinet on Tuesday.
Instead Trump opened the meeting by having Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem talk about her visit to Kerrville, Texas, a day after floodwaters swept away riverside campers and homeowners in the wee hours of the Fourth of July holiday.
▶ Read more about Trump, FEMA and the Texas floods
